YooDrive ADI Terms & Conditions
5. Approved Driving Instructors Status and Responsibilities
5.1 Approved Driving Instructors are not employees of YooDrive and are solely responsible for their own actions both on and off the Website.
5.2 Instructors must be at least 21 years old.
5.3 Approved Driving Instructors must be legally entitled (possessing the relevant immigration status where relevant) to work in the UK on a self-employed basis.
5.4 If Approved Driving Instructors contact Pupils who are under 16, they must ensure that these Pupils are represented by a parent or legal guardian who gives consent for the Pupil to receive tuition.
5.5 Approved Driving Instructors are responsible for ensuring that the personal information they provide and their personal statements on the Website are accurate and in no way misleading. They must update this information promptly to maintain its accuracy.
5.6 Approved Driving Instructors must disclose any criminal convictions or cautions they may have to YooDrive, including any criminal convictions or cautions received at any time after having registered Instructor account on the Website and for as long as the Approved Driving Instructor remains registered.
5.7 Any Approved Driving Instructor claiming Background Checked Status must meet the requirements set out in clause 16.4 of these terms and conditions.
5.8 Any Approved Driving Instructor who, in YooDrive's opinion, fails to comply with these terms and conditions may be immediately barred from using the Website and related services. YooDrive reserves the right to cancel any existing Bookings at any time in such circumstances.
5.9 Approved Driving Instructors must use their own judgement about whether they wish to offer their tuition services to each individual Pupil. Approved Driving Instructors must take every precaution to ensure that they work in a safe environment and are responsible for taking out and maintaining their own insurance policies to cover the work they undertake.
5.10 Approved Driving Instructors will be advised of the Approved Driving Instructors fee by YooDrive. Once the Approved Driving Instructor Fee is accepted by an Approved Driving Instructor, they will be advertised on the YooDrive.com platform.
5.11 Approved Driving Instructors agree that they will be ranked on the Website based on a mixture of profile data, Pupil ratings and number of Lessons taught. Positive Pupil ratings, prompt messaging, repeat Bookings and a greater number of Lessons taught will contribute to Approved Driving Instructors being ranked higher on the Website's search engine results. YooDrive reserves the right to change the way Approved Driving Instructors are ranked at any time.
5.12 Approved Driving Instructors will make Bookings for Lessons and respond to messages received from YooDrive and Users promptly.
5.13 For any meetings (including lessons, tests or assessing Pupil need) with a Pupil found via YooDrive's Website, Approved Driving Instructors must make a Booking to account for this time using the Website. Approved Driving Instructors agree not to solicit Pupils or disintermediate YooDrive, or attempt to solicit Pupils or disintermediate YooDrive, in any way, at the time of booking any Lesson with any Pupil, during any period of confirmed Bookings with any Pupil or at any time within six months of the date of the most recent Booking with the relevant Pupil.
5.14 Approved Driving Instructors must only make Bookings for Lessons in accordance with the instructions of their Pupils. If Approved Driving Instructors make Bookings for additional lessons which they fail to deliver, they will be liable to refund to the Pupil directly any fee they have received for any such Bookings.
5.15 Approved Driving Instructors must attempt to call the Pupil, be able to provide evidence of the call and allow at least 15 minutes from the scheduled start time of a Lesson for Pupils to attend the Lesson. If Instructors fail to do so, they will be liable to refund to the Pupil any Approved Driving Instructor fee they have received for the relevant booking.
5.16 Approved Driving Instructors must not complete coursework, or any similar assignments, on behalf of Pupils.
5.17 Approved Driving Instructors must ensure that all written communication with Pupils to organise Bookings and arrange Lessons takes place via the YooDrive Website or App.
5.18 Approved Driving Instructors shall indemnify YooDrive for all claims and liabilities arising out of any use by the Approved Driving Instructor of the Website, including any costs and expenses incurred.
5.19 Approved Driving Instructors are responsible for ensuring that they have the correct Lesson location and are at the Lesson location ready to teach at the agreed time as booked on the YooDrive Website. Approved Driving Instructors who are late for a Lesson must provide evidence that they contacted the Pupil directly to make them aware of their lateness and that the Pupil was happy to take the Lesson at a later time. Any Approved Driving Instructors who fail to do so will be liable to refund to the Pupil any Approved Driving Instructor fee they have received for the relevant booking.
6. Payment
6.1 The Lesson Fee payable by a Pupil for a Lesson or Lessons will be displayed on the Website at the time of confirming a Booking. The Lesson Fee will also be displayed on the Pupil's lessons dashboard on the Website, in Lesson reminder emails and, following Lessons, in emails confirming receipt of payment.
6.2 A Lesson Fee is the combination of the Approved Driving Instructors Fee, which will be collected by YooDrive as the agent of the Approved Driving Instructor, and YooDrive's Platform Fee. All fees include any applicable VAT or other sales tax.
6.3 The Platform Fee is payable in exchange for the provision of the services listed in clause 2 of these terms and conditions.
6.4 An Approved Driving Instructors fee for a Lesson will be the majority of the Lesson Fee due for that Lesson (the "Approved Driving Instructor Fee"). The percentage of the Lesson Fee that represents the Approved Driving Instructors Fee, will be paid directly to the Approved Driving Instructor from the Payment processing service.
YooDrive as agent for the transaction, will also be paid directly from Stripe. YooDrives Platform Fee are 13% of the total Lesson Fee plus Vat.
6.5 The Pupil authorises YooDrive to instruct Stripe to charge their credit/debit card for each Lesson or Lessons for the value of the Lesson Fee attached to the relevant Booking.
6.6 If any Pupil cancels a Booking less than 24 hours before the relevant Lesson is due to commence, payment will still be taken after the Lesson is due to end.
6.7 If any Pupil makes a Complaint (claiming for a missed Lesson, raising a refund request, or making a claim against YooDrive's satisfaction guarantee), charges may nevertheless be processed as usual to collect payment, and refunded as appropriate, in accordance with these terms and conditions.
6.8 Payment processing services on YooDrive's Website are provided by Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd trading as Stripe and are subject to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement, which includes the Stripe Services Agreement – United Kingdom (together, the "Stripe Terms"). By agreeing to these terms and conditions or continuing to operate as an Approved Driving Instructor on YooDrive's Website, the Approved Driving Instructor agrees to be bound by the Stripe Terms, as the same may be modified or amended by Stripe from time to time; and Approved Driving Instructor agrees to provide YooDrive with accurate and complete information about themselves and, where relevant, their business, and each Approved Driving Instructor authorises YooDrive to share with Stripe such information and transaction information related to Approved Driving Instructors use of the payment processing services provided by Stripe.
6.9 Stripe normally transfers an Approved Driving Instructors Fee from the Approved Driving Instructors Stripe connected account to the Approved Driving Instructors nominated account within 7 days following a Lesson, provided the relevant ID has been provided and passes Stripe's verification process.
6.10 Approved Driving Instructors earnings may be held in Escrow until Stripe's verification requirement is completed.
7. Cancellations
7.1 A Pupil may cancel a Booking at any point before the scheduled start time of a Lesson.
7.2 A Pupil may only cancel a Lesson by cancelling the relevant Booking on the Website. Cancellations made through direct contact with the Approved Driving Instructors, such as by text or phone, and not through the Website, may result in charges still being made to a Pupil's account.
7.3 Cancellations made 24 or more hours before a Lesson is due to commence will incur no charge.
7.4 Bookings cancelled by a Pupil less than 24 hours before a Lesson is due to commence may incur a charge. YooDrive leaves it to the Approved Driving Instructors discretion whether to accept the cancellation request and not charge any Lesson Fee, or to charge the Pupil a percentage of the Lesson Fee, as displayed at the time of confirming their Booking. Unless instructed otherwise by the Approved Driving Instructor, YooDrive will, as the Approved Driving Instructors agent, automatically instruct Stripe to charge 100% of the Lesson Fee and payment will be processed in accordance with these terms and conditions.
7.5 Approved Driving Instructors may cancel a Booking at any time prior to a Lesson taking place. To do so, Approved Driving Instructors must inform the Pupil directly via the Website and cancel the Booking on the Website. In the event of an Approved Driving Instructor cancelling a Booking, the Pupil will not be charged any Lesson Fee or, if the Pupil has paid the Lesson Fee, will receive a full refund.
7.6 Bookings cannot be cancelled after the Lesson has started.
8. Missed Lessons and Complaints
8.1 As defined at the end of these terms and conditions, a "Complaint" covers any cause for the Pupil to seek a refund as a result of the service provided by the Approved Driving Instructor, including, but not limited to, a Missed Lesson (where the Approved Driving Instructor did not attend a Lesson booked on the Website) or a claim about quality (where the Pupil feels that the service provided by an Approved Driving Instructor falls below the industries reasonable standards ).
8.2 A Pupil should inform YooDrive of a Complaint by either phone or email within 24 hours after the scheduled finish time of the relevant Lesson.
8.3 When a complaint has been received from a Pupil, YooDrive will contact the Approved Driving Instructor within 48 hours of the complaint being received, by email and text message to inform the Approved Driving Instructor that a complaint has been raised.
8.4 Should a Pupil inform YooDrive of a complaint within 24 hours after the scheduled finish time of the relevant Lesson, the Approved Driving Instructor has 48 hours to inform YooDrive through the Website of their desire to dispute the complaint (and reject the associated refund request). Should the Approved Driving Instructor not dispute the complaint through the Website within 48 hours of being notified of the complaint, YooDrive, as the agent of the Approved Driving Instructor, will instruct Stripe to process a full refund to the Pupil of the Approved Driving Instructor Fee. YooDrive reserves the right, as a goodwill gesture, to instruct Stripe to process a refund of the Platform Fee for the Booking related to the Lesson the complaint is regarding. YooDrive will promptly inform the Pupil of the Approved Driving Instructors decision whether or not to uphold their complaint by email and, if upheld, authorise the associated refund.
8.5 Should a Pupil inform YooDrive of a complaint more than 24 hours after the scheduled finish time of the relevant Lesson, the Approved Driving Instructor has 48 hours to inform YooDrive by email or phone of their desire to uphold the complaint (and authorise YooDrive on the Approved Driving Instructors behalf to award the associated refund of the Approved Driving Instructor Fee). Should Approved Driving Instructors not contact YooDrive within 48 hours to uphold the complaint, YooDrive, as the agent of the Approved Driving Instructor, will inform the Pupil by email of the Approved Driving Instructors decision to reject their complaint and reject the associated refund request.
8.6 Should the Pupil and Approved Driving Instructor not reach an amicable agreement regarding a complaint; the Pupil is entitled to make a claim against the Approved Driving Instructor in relation to the complaint. As set out in clause 5.1, YooDrive accepts no liability in relation to complaints and the services provided by an Approved Driving Instructor.
8.7 Should YooDrive find that a Missed Lesson occurred due to any failure of YooDrive to meet the terms set out in clause 2 of these terms and conditions, YooDrive will refund the Pupil any Platform Fee paid.
8.8 YooDrive reserves the right to offer any Pupil, as a gesture of goodwill, payment of a sum equivalent to the full Lesson Fee. Such a payment will be awarded solely at YooDrive's discretion.
9. Satisfaction Guarantee
9.1 To reflect YooDrive's confidence in the matching service provided, at their discretion, YooDrive, as a gesture of goodwill, will pay a Pupil under the satisfaction guarantee an amount equal to the lesser of the cost of the Initial Lesson (as defined in clause 9.2) or the cost of the Replacement Lesson (as defined in clause 9.2).
9.2 To qualify for this satisfaction guarantee, the Pupil must: i) notify YooDrive that they are unhappy with their first Lesson for which there is a Booking on the Website (the "Initial Lesson") by email or phone within 48 hours of the Lesson's scheduled finish time, giving their reasons for their dissatisfaction (YooDrive will then note eligibility for the satisfaction guarantee on the Pupil's account); ii) independently find a new, replacement Approved Driving Instructor, with whom they must book, confirm, take and pay for a Lesson on the Website (the "Replacement Lesson"); and iii) contact YooDrive by email or phone within 48 hours of the Replacement Lesson's finish time.
9.3 YooDrive reserves the right to determine whether a valid claim of dissatisfaction Stands.
9.4 Before any payment is made to a Pupil under the terms of this satisfaction guarantee, payment for the Initial and Replacement Bookings must have been received by YooDrive.
9.5 YooDrive will only offer the satisfaction guarantee if the Replacement Lesson is completed within 12 months of the Initial Lesson (and not any later Lessons).
9.6 The satisfaction guarantee is limited to one claim per Pupil.
9.7 Where a Pupil is noted as eligible under the satisfaction guarantee or a goodwill payment is made, YooDrive will, as agent for the respective Approved Driving Instructors, ensure that Approved Driving Instructor Fees for the Initial and Replacement Lessons are passed on to them.
9.8 YooDrive reserves the right not to make the goodwill payment if the Pupil has failed to comply with any of these terms and conditions.
10. Failed Payments
10.1 As defined in clause 16.5, 'Failed Payment' means an outstanding Lesson Fee for a Booking, for which Stripe, as instructed by YooDrive, has been unable to make a successful charge against the payment details provided by the Pupil.
10.2 In the case of a Failed Payment still being outstanding 48 and 72 hours after the scheduled end of the relevant Lesson, the Pupil authorises YooDrive to automatically instruct Stripe to retry the charge.
10.3 The Pupil can also give YooDrive consent by phone, email, SMS or support messages to instruct Stripe to retry payments for any outstanding Failed Payment.
10.4 As the agent of the Approved Driving Instructors, YooDrive reserves the right to protect the Approved Driving Instructors from further loss of earnings by cancelling Lessons and their associated Bookings at any point with a Pupil who has an outstanding Failed Payment (including for a Pupil who has an outstanding Failed Payment for a Booking with another Approved Driving Instructor)
10.5 In the case of a Failed Payment still being outstanding 96 hours after the scheduled end of the relevant Lesson, YooDrive will cancel all the Pupil's further Bookings and inform the Approved Driving Instructor by SMS that Stripe has been unable to collect payment on their behalf. The Approved Driving Instructor must not make any further Bookings for Lessons with the Pupil until the Failed Payment has been settled by Stripe making a successful charge for the full Lesson Fee.
10.6 As the agent of the Approved Driving Instructor, YooDrive may continue to seek payment to cover Failed Payments from the Pupil for ninety days following the scheduled end of the relevant Lesson, by contacting the Pupil by email, SMS and/or phone.
10.7 The Pupil accepts that YooDrive reserves the right to pass bad debts for YooDrive's Platform Fees to third party debt collection services and acknowledge that their credit rating may be affected.
10.8 YooDrive will not be liable to the Approved Driving Instructor for any lost earnings resulting from any Failed Payment.
10.9 YooDrive without obligation, reserves the right to pay the Approved Driving Instructor, as a gesture of goodwill, an amount equal to the Approved Driving Instructor Fee for any Lessons for which there has been a Failed Payment. This right is entirely at the discretion of YooDrive.
11. Child Protection
11.1 YooDrive seeks to provide the best service possible and provide a safe experience in which children can learn.
11.2 Any User who is the parent of a child under the age of 16 who has a Lesson with an Approved Driving Instructor should not leave the child in the sole care of that Approved Driving Instructor.
11.3 All Approved Driving Instructors must comply with the Approved Driving Instructors Child Protection Policy, whether they are a member of The Approved Driving Instructors Association, and all relevant legislation and government guidance.
11.4 If any User has a concern regarding child protection, they should contact YooDrive immediately.
12. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability
12.1 Nothing in these terms and conditions in any way limits or excludes YooDrive 's liability for negligence causing death or personal injury or for anything which is not permitted by law to be excluded or limited.
12.2 All Users must give YooDrive a reasonable opportunity to remedy any matter for which YooDrive is potentially liable before incurring any costs remedying the matter themselves.
12.3 YooDrive shall not be liable for any loss or damage caused by it or its employees or agents in circumstances where:
- there is no breach of a legal duty of care owed by YooDrive or by any of its employees or agents;
- such loss or damage was not reasonably foreseeable by both parties; or
- such loss or damage is caused by the User, for example by not complying with these terms and conditions.
12.4 To the extent permitted by law, the User will be liable for any reasonably foreseeable loss or damage YooDrive suffers arising from the User's breach of these terms and conditions or misuse of the Website (subject of course to YooDrive 's obligation to mitigate any losses).
12.5 The following clauses apply only if the User is not a consumer:
- To the extent allowed by law, the User and YooDrive exclude all terms, whether imposed by statute or by law or otherwise, that are not expressly stated in these terms and conditions. In this clause, any reference to YooDrive includes its employees and agents.
- YooDrive 's liability of any kind (including in respect of its own negligence) with respect to the Website for any one event or series of related events is limited to £100 or the total Platform Fees paid by the User in the 12 months before the event(s) complained or, whichever is higher.
- In no event (including YooDrive's negligence) will YooDrive be liable for any:
- economic losses (including, without limitation, loss of revenues, profits, contracts, business or anticipated savings).
- loss of goodwill or reputation;
- special, indirect or consequential losses; or
- damage to or loss of data (even if YooDrive has been advised of the possibility of such losses).
- the User will indemnify YooDrive against all claims and liabilities directly or indirectly related to the User's use of the Website and/or breach of these terms and conditions.
- These terms and conditions constitute the entire agreement between the parties with respect to their subject matter and supersede any previous communications or agreements. The parties both acknowledge that there have been no misrepresentations and that neither has relied on any pre-contractual statements. Liability for misrepresentation (excluding fraudulent misrepresentation) relating to these terms and conditions is excluded.
13. Intellectual Property
13.1 When submitting material to YooDrive, Pupils and Approved Driving Instructors also grant to YooDrive a non-exclusive, royalty-free, non-terminable licence to copy, modify, distribute, show in public and create derivative works from that material.
14. Changes to these terms and conditions
14.1 YooDrive may change these terms and conditions by posting the revised version on the Website at least 14 days before they become effective. Please check the Website from time to time. Users will be bound by the revised terms and conditions if they continue to use the Website or the services following the effective date shown.
15. Governing Law & Jurisdiction
15.1 These terms and conditions and any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter shall be governed by and construed in accordance with UK law and the courts of UK shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any such dispute or claim will be decided only by the courts of UK.
15.2 If any clause or any part of these terms and conditions is found to be unenforceable in law, the other terms and conditions will remain in force.
16. Definitions
16.1 "Booking" means the booking attached to an individual Lesson on the Website.
16.2 "Complaint" means a claim by a Pupil that either the service provided by an Approved Driving Instructor falls below the standards the Pupil expected of an Approved Driving Instructor introduced by YooDrive, or, that there was a Missed Lesson.
16.3 "Content" means all information of whatever kind (including information, service provider listings, profiles, Reviews), published, stored or sent on or in connection with the Website.
16.4 "Background Checked Status" means an Approved Driving Instructor displaying the 'DBS Checked' badge on their profile page on the Website. Background checks must have been awarded within 2 years of the date on which an Approved Driving Instructor creates an account on the Website, and within 3 years at any point in time thereafter. Within these time frames, background checks will be accepted if they are an enhanced check provided by the Disclosure and Barring Service, Disclosure Scotland or Access Northern Ireland. YooDrive cannot verify any claim made by Approved Driving Instructors within their profile or in any of other communication, which relates to them having a valid background check other than through the awarding of the "Background Checked Status".
16.5 "Failed Payment" means an outstanding Lesson Fee for a Booking, for which Stripe, as instructed by YooDrive, has been unable to make a successful charge against the payment details provided by the Pupil.
16.6 "Lesson" means, unless otherwise specified, a one-to-one tuition lesson between a Pupil and the Approved Driving Instructor, including both in-person and online sessions.
16.7 "Lesson Fee" means the combination of the Approved Driving Instructor Fee and the Platform Fee.
16.8 "Missed Lesson" means a claim by a Pupil that they have not received a Lesson with a Booking on the Website.
16.9 "Online Classroom" means YooDrive's own online lesson space which is made available to Users at the time of booked Online Lessons.
16.10 "Online Lesson" means a one-to-one tuition lesson between a Pupil and an Approved Driving Instructor delivered through YooDrive's Online Classroom.
16.11 "Platform Fee" means the fee charged by YooDrive to Pupils for the provision of YooDrive's services.
16.12 "Review" means any review, comment or rating.
16.13 "Stripe Terms" means the terms set out by Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd trading as Stripe, as set out within the Stripe Connected Account Agreement, which includes the Stripe Services Agreement – United Kingdom.
16.14 "Pupil" means a User who has registered a Pupil account on the Website. The Pupil must be at least 17 years old. Where the learner is under 18 years old, the Pupil will be their parent or guardian.
16.15 "Pupil Restriction Period" means, as defined in clause 4.9, being at the time of booking any Approved Driving Instructor, during any period of confirmed Bookings with any Approved Driving Instructor or at any time within six months of the date of the most recent Booking with the relevant Approved Driving Instructor.
16.16 "Approved Driving Instructor" means a User who has registered an Approved Driving Instructor account on the Website.
16.17 "Approved Driving Instructor Fee" means that part of the Lesson Fee which is collected by YooDrive as agent for the Approved Driving Instructor as described in clause 6.4.
16.18 "Approved Driving Instructor Restriction Period" means, as defined in clause 5.13, being at the time of booking any Lesson with any Pupil, during any period of confirmed Bookings with any Pupil or at any time within six months of the date of the most recent Booking with the relevant Pupil.
16.19 "YooDrive" means the company YooDrive Ltd (company no. SC662351) trading as YooDrive with its registered office address at 2 Lytham Meadows, Bothwell, Glasgow, Scotland G71 8ED.
16.20 "User" means a person who uses our website (whether they have registered an account with us).
16.21 "Website" means the website on the domain https:// YooDrive.com or https:// YooDrive.co.uk
Gift Vouchers & Crowdfund
17. Redemption - YooDrive.Com, Gift Cards and/or Gift Vouchers (which includes products branded as 'Crowdfund') These ("Gifts") may only be redeemed toward the purchase of eligible products on YooDrive.com. Purchases are deducted from the redeemer's Gift balance. Any unused balance will be placed in the redeemer's YooDrive account. If a purchase exceeds the redeemer's Gift balance, the remaining amount must be paid with another valid payment method.
YooDrive or its affiliates ("we", "us", and "our") may provide Gift Card purchasers with information about the redemption status of Gift Cards that they purchase. To view your Gift balance, visit Your Account at YooDrive.com/login No fees apply to Gift Cards.
17.1 Limitations - Gift Cards that have not been redeemed on Yoodrive.com website, have an expiry of two years from the date of issuance. Gift cards that have been redeemed where the value forms part of a users balance will have a further expiry of two years from the date it was redeemed. Gift Cards may not be redeemed for the purchase of products at www.YooDrive.com, or any other website owned and operated by us, our affiliates, or any other person or entity, except as indicated by these terms and conditions. Gift Cards cannot be used to purchase other gift cards. Gift Cards cannot be reloaded, resold, transferred for value, used for unauthorised commercial purposes, including to facilitate the resale of services or shipment of goods from YooDrive.com, redeemed for cash, or used in a manner otherwise prohibited by our policy. Unused Gift Card balances in a YooDrive account may not be transferred to another YooDrive account.
17.2 Risk of loss - The risk of loss and title for Gift Cards pass to the purchaser upon our electronic transmission of the Gift Card to the purchaser or designated recipient, or our delivery to the carrier, whichever is applicable. We are not responsible if any Gift Card is lost, stolen, destroyed or used without your permission.
17.3 Fraud - We will have the right to close customer accounts and take payment from an alternative form of payment if a fraudulently obtained Gift Card is redeemed and/or used to make purchases on YooDrive.com or any of its affiliated websites set forth above.
17.4 Limitation of Liability – We make no warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to Gift Cards, including without limitation, any expressed or implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. In the event a gift card is non-functional, your sole remedy, and or sole liability, will be the replacement of such Gift Card. If the applicable law does not allow limitations on implied warranties or the exclusion or limitations of certain damages, some or all of the above disclaimers, exclusions, or limitations may not apply to you, and you may have additional rights.
17.5 General Terms - Gift Cards are issued by YooDrive.Com. When you purchase, receive or redeem a Gift Card, you agree that the laws of United Kingdom will govern these Gift Card terms and conditions.
If you are a consumer and have your habitual residence in the European Union, you additionally enjoy the protection afforded to you by mandatory provisions of the law of your country of residence. We reserve the right to require additional verification of your identity, Gift Card or account ownership, or provision of an additional payment instrument, before you can apply a Gift Card to your account or your YooDrive Gift Card Balance to a purchase. We reserve the right to change these terms and conditions from time to time at our discretion. All terms and conditions are applicable to the extent permitted by law.